Means for use in shaping shoe uppers



Nov. 24, 1942. P. H. DlxQN MEANS FOR USE IN SHAPING SHOE kUPPERS 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 0M.. 18, 1940 /NVENTU/Q- i Nov. 24, 1942. P, H QN I2,302,750

MEANS FOR USE IN SHAPING SHOE UPPERS Filed Oct! 18, 1940 1 3Sheets-Sheet 2 NVE/YTD@ -stretching the' welt seam and able grinning of'the seam.

Patented Nov. 24, 1942 UNITED vSTAjlTllS EATENT OFFICE MEANS FOR USE INSHAPING SHOE UPPERS Paul H. Dixon, Wenham, Mass., assignor vto UnitedShoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of NewJersey Application October 18, 1940, Serial No. 361,733

23 Claims.

This invention relates to means for shaping shoe uppers and is hereinillustrated in its application to means for molding the forepart of -anupper before the upper is mounted on a last I fore the upper is shapedand the presence of the Welt on the lasting margin greatly hinders thepulling-over and lasting-operations since the length of ythe welt mustbe substantially reduced in shaping the toe portion of the upper overthe last. Furthermore, it is the usual practiceI to last prewelt uppersin lasting machines having wipers which operate Within lthe Welt creaseof the upper and act directly against the Welt seam in overwiping thewelted margin. Ii the upper is slightly scant for the last on which itis to be shaped, the Wipers in performing the lasting operation exertconsiderable force against :the Welt, particularly at the toe end of theupper,

causing Aobjf-:ction- It is an object of the present invention toimproveupon the-manufacture of prevvelt shoes by providing means forpre-shaping the upper before attaching the welt and before the upper islasted lin order to facilitate the lasting operation and to obviate theoccurrence of grinning seams caused by the stretching of the Welt :seam

in the lasting operation. lIt is a further object of the invention toprovide a prewelt upper which, by reason ci its Ibeing pre-shaped beforethe Welt is attached, will retain its shape during the life of the shoe.

For thus pre-shaping shoe uppers, the present invention in one aspectthereof consists in the provision of means comprising an outeruppershaping form and a solid inner form characterized by its capacityto receive a shape complementary to the shape of the outer form byengaging said outer form. The illustrated inner form is forced againstthe outer form `by exterior pressure applied to said inner form. Theillustrated outer form has an upper molding surface complementary in.shape to the shape desired for the peripheral portion of the forepartof an upper While the illustrated inner form comprises a top plate forshaping the top ofthe forepart of the upper and an expander inthe formof a resilient member operable'by pressure heightwise of the upperforshaping theperipheral .portion of the upper against the outer form. Theillustrated inner formisoperatedlbyia carrier which moves it heightwiseof the upper into a predetermined position and imparts height- `Wisepressure to the resilient member 'to expand it outwardly against theperiphery of the upper to shape the upper against the outer form. Duringthe operation of the inner form, the upper is yieldingly held andcontrolled by its outturned margin between members herein illustrated asthe outer form and a Work support. During the upward movement oi theinner ifo-rm the outturned margin oi the upper is drawn outwardly frombetween the outer form and the Work support which exert a sufficientrestraining action on the upper to enable the inner form to shape theupper during its heightwise movement. In the course of upward movementoi the inner form, a retarder which, as herein illustrated, is carriedby the member which carries the inner form presses against the innersurface of the yupper and serves to hold the upper and restrain itsupward movement after the outturned margin has been drawn outJ from'between the outer form and the Work support. The inner form and theretarder, as herein illustrated, have a common actuator which operatesthem in predetermined time relation such that the retarder becomeseffective While the outturned margin of the upper is still in the gripof the outer form andthe work support and maintains a continuingrestraint upon the upper `untilthe kresilient member has expandedsufficiently to press the upper r.against the puter form.

The illustrated machine is Welladapted to :be employed in the practiceof a method which is the subject of my co-pending application, SerialNo. 386,396, led April 2, v'."L94l, said co-pending `application being adivision ofthe present application. This method relates tothemanufacture of prewelt shoes and consists in initially shaping an upperoff the last, then securing an outsoleattaching Welt to the upper, andcompleting the shoe.

It will be underdstood that shoe uppers shaped by the illustrated meansare adapted to lbe completed by processes of shoe manufacture other.than the prewelt process. For example, uppers so shaped lend themselvesreadily to completion as cementprocess orlVicKay shoes.

The invention will now -be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings and pointed out in the appended-claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. l is aside elevation of a machine embodylng the `features ofthepresent invention, certain parts being broken away and other parts beingshown in section;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the top of the machine with an upper mountedtherein;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line III-III of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line IV-IV of Fig. 6;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the retarder;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line VI-VI of Fig. 2;

Figs. '7, 8, and 9 are sectional views taken on the same plane as Fig.6, illustrating certain work engaging parts in progressive stages intheir operation; and

Fig. 10 is a side elevation of the forepart of a prewelt upper molded inthe illustrated machine, the toe portion of the welt and upper beingshown in section.

Referring to Fig. 1, the illustrated machine comprises a standard 26 onthe top of which there is secured a head 22 in which are mounted theoperating parts of the machine. porting the forepart of a shoe upper inan upright position, an. upper supporting member or plate 24 is securedto the upper ends of two vertical shafts 26 (Fig. 4) and has its forwardportion recessed to provide clearance for the upward movement of theupper molding parts. For gaging the position of the upper in themachine, the work supporting plate 24 is provided with a shoulder 28(Fig. 6) uniformly spaced from the inner edge face 3l) of the plate forengagement .A

with the edge of the forepart of the upper. For clamping the margin ofthe upper against the upper supporting plate 24, a presser plate 32 issecured to a swinging member 34 (Figs. l and 2) fulcrumed at 36 betweenupward extensions 36 of the head 22. For operating the swinging member34 to clamp the plate 32 against the upper, a bent hand lever 46 isfulcrumed at its elbow to an arm 42 extending rearwardly from theswinging member 341. At its lower end the bent lever 46 is pivoted tothe upper end of a link 44 which is fulcrumed at its lower end betweenlugs 46 extending upwardly from the base of the head 22. The link 44 inconjunction with the downwardly extending portion of the bent hand lever46 operates as a toggle upon counter-clockwise movement of the handlever (as seen in Fig. l) to bring the plate 32 into clamping positionand to hold it in that position during the operation of theupper-molding members. turns the toggle to its bent position.

The upper supporting plate 24 is supported by springs 59 surrounding theshafts 26 and operating to maintain a pressing action on the margin ofthe upper while the toggle is in its straightened position regardless ofthe thickness of the upper material. The pressure of the plate 24against the upper may be adjusted by varying the compression of thesprings 50. In the illustrated machine, this is accomplished byadjusting externally threaded sleeves 5! which support the springs, saidsleeves being threaded into a bracketv 53 on the standard 23. Adjustablestop nuts E2 on the shafts 26 determine the position of the worksupporting plate 24 when the presser plate 32 is retracted. For moldingthe forepart of an upper clamped against the work supporting plate 2li,as shown in Fig. l, a rigid plate 54, the upper surface of which has acontour corresponding to the contour desired for the forepart of theupper, is secured to the upper end of a vertical shaft 56 mounted forvertical sliding movement in a bearing plate 58 secured to forwardextensions 6l) (Fig. 3) of the head 22. Mounted on the ,upper portion ofthe shaft 56 beneath the plate 54 is For supg A spring 48 rea resilientmember or expander 62 (Fig. 6) for molding the peripheral portion of theforepart of the upper, said expander, as herein illustrated, beingcomposed of resilient rubber and having substantially the sameperipheral contour as the plate 54. The expander is operated by verticalcompression which causes it to expand laterally and force the peripheralportion of the upper into an outer mold provided by the edge face 64 ofthe presser plate 32 which is shaped in accordance with the peripheralcontour to be imparted to the upper. For vertically compressing theexpander 52 a presser member E6 is positioned at the upper end of aslide 68 mounted in a guideway in the head 22 and extends downwardly tothe base of the standard 20 where it is connected to a treadle 10(Fig. 1) In the course of the upward movement of the upper molding plate54 the margin of the upper is drawn outwardly from under the presserplate 32, the clamping action on the upper being of a yielding natureand only sufficient to restrain the outward movement of the upper inorder to enable the molding plate 54 to exert a shaping or moldingaction on the upper. In order to maintain a restraining action on theupper after the upper has been drawn outwardly from under the presserplate 32, an auxiliary presser member or retarder 'i2 (Fig. 6) ismounted for vertical sliding movement in the head 22, its upper portionbeing arranged to engage the upper contacting surface of the outer form32. As illustrated in Fig. '7, the upper edge face of the retarder 72has a contour complementary to the contour of the adjacent portion ofthe presser plate 32 against which the retarder 12 presses the upper.The lower or shank portion of the retarder l2 is channel-shaped, asshown in Fig. 3, and is arranged for sliding movement in a guidewayprovided in the head 22, the inner surface of said channel-shapedportion of the presser member serving as three sides of a guideway forthe slide G8, the fourth side of said guideway being the bearing plate58. The retarder 12 is yieldingl;7 upheld relatively to the slide 68 bya spring 'I4 (Fig. 1) mounted in a groove in the slide 68 for engagementwith a stud 16 extending into the upper portion of said groove from theretarder 12. It will be understood that the upper molding plate 54, theexpander 62, and the retarder 12 are all operated by the upward movementof the slide 68 upon depression of the treadle 16. During the movementof said parts from their position illustrated in Fig. 6 into theirposition illustrated in Fig. '7, the relation of said parts to oneanother remains unchanged, said parts moving upwardly as a unit untilthe retarder comes into pressing engagement with the upper. During thisinitial movement of the operating parts, the plate 54 exerts an initialmolding action on the upper and the expander 62 receives no outwardexpansion by reason of the upward pressure of the presser member 66against it because it is completely encased by the inner surface of theupper portion of the retarder 12 and a down-turned extension 'I8 (Fig.6) of the uper molding plate 54. During the continued upward movement ofthe presser member 66, after the retarder 'i2 has engaged the upper, themolding plate 54 and the expander 62 move upwardly relatively to theretarder through the stage illustrated in Fig. 8 and into the positionillustrated in Fig. 9 in which position the upward movement of the uppermolding plate 54 is arrested by the engagement of a stop nut (Fig. 1) onthe shaft 56 with the bottom of the bearing plate 58. If

the plate 54 comes to the limit of its upward movement before theexpander G2 has expanded suiiiciently to seat the upper in the recess inthe inner edge face of the presser plate 32, the slide 68 continues itsupward movement until the expander 62 completes its operation on theupper, as shown in Fig. 9. A stop screw 52 carried by a collar 84 on theslide 68 engages the bracket 53 on the standard to prevent excessivecompression of the expander 62.

In the operation of the illustrated machine, the forepart of an upper isoutspread and positioned on the work supporting plate 2d with its edge mcontact with the work engaging shoulder 28 on said plate. While theoperator holds the upper in position on said plate with one hand, heoperates the lever with the other hand to move the presser plate 32downwardly from its position shown in broken lines in Fig. l to its fullline position. The operator then depresses the f treadle l0 therebymoving the upper molding mechanism upwardly from its positionillustrated in Fig. 6 through its positions shown in Figs, 'l and 8 andlinto its position illustrated in Fig. 9, causing the plate 54 to shapethe top of the forepart of the upper and causing the expander 52 toshape or mold the peripheral portion of the forepart of the upperagainst the upper molding surta-ce of the presser plate 32. During themolding operation, the movement of the upper is restrained f andcontrolled lrst by the gripping action of the presser plate 32 and thework supporting plate 24 against the margin of the upper and, at a laterstage in the -cycle of operations, by the gripping action of theretarder 'i2 against the inner surface of the upper, and finally by theaction of the expander G2 to press the upper against the upper-moldingsurface of the plate 32 (Fig. 8).

Referring to Fig. 10, the illustrated upper, after it has been molded,is provided with an outsole attaching welt 86 and it will be seen thatthe inward inclination of the lasting margin of the upper causes thewelt to be arranged in a position such that no considerable stretchingor turning of the welted margin at the toe end of the upper is requiredto position the welt for attachment to an outsole. Furthermore, thereduction in. the length of the lasting margin of the forepart of theupper in the molding operation reduces the length of welting requiredfor the upper and the required welting being of a length comparable tothe length of the periphery of the outsole is very readily lasted andprepared for the outsole attaching operation.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Means for shaping shoe uppers comprising an outer form and a solidinner form characterized by its capacity for receiving a shapecomplementary to the shape of the outer form by pressing it against theouter form.

2. Means for shaping shoe uppers comprising an outer form and a solidinner 'form characterized by its capacity for receiving a shape complementary to the shape of the outer form by the application of exteriorpressure to iorce it against the outer form., and characterized furtherby its capacity for returning to its original shape upon disengagementfrom the outer form.

3. Means for shaping shoe uppers comprising an outer form having anupper shaping surface, and an inner form comprising a rigid member and amember characterized by its capacity to receive a shape complementary tothe upper shaping surface of the outer form by the application ofexterior pressure to force it against the outer form..

4. Means for molding shoe uppers including an inner form having aresilient upper molding member and means for compressing said moldingmember to cause its peripheral portion to bulge and thus to applymolding pressure to the shoe upper.

5. Means for shaping shoe uppers including an inner form comprising anexpander, a presser for operating the expander, and a member againstwhich the presser compresses the expander to cause its peripheralportion to bulge and thus to apply molding pressure to an upper.

6. Means for shaping toe portions of shoe uppers including an inner formhaving a rigid plate, an expander forshaping the peripheral portion ofan upper, and means including said platel for operating said expander bythe application of pressure thereto.

7. Means for shaping shoe uppers including an inner-form comprising arigid plate and an eX- pander, one surface of which engages said plate,and a plunger constructed and arranged to act against an oppositesurface of said expander to compress it against the plate. i

8. Means for molding a shoe upper comprising an outer foren-art moldhaving a recess within which the forepart is shaped and the lastingmargin is inwardly flanged, and an inner form including an expanderoperable by the applicatic-n ci' exterior pressure thereto to force theupper into molding engagement with the outer form.

9. Means for molding the forepart of a shoe upper comprising an outerform provided with an upper receiving recess, an inner form including anexpander for pressing the upper into the recess in the outer form, saidinner form being constructed and arranged for movement heightwise of theupper, and means for retarding eightwise movement of the upper with theinner form.

10. Means for molding the forepart of an upper comprising an outer form.having an upper receiving recess, an inner form including an expander,means for moving the inner form heightwise of the upper, a retarder forresisting heightwise movement of the upper with the inner form, andmeans for actuating the expander to mold the upper against the recessedportion of the outer form.

ll. Means for molding the forepart of a shoe upper comprising an outerform having a shaped surface against which the peripheral portion of theupper is molded, an inner form including an expander for shaping theperipheral portion of the upper against the outer form, means for movingthe inner form heightwise of the upper to cause it to shape the upper,and a retarder for pressing the upper against the outer form to restrainheightwise movement with the innner form.

12. Means for molding the forepart of a shoe upper comprising an outerform having a shaped surface against which the peripheral portion of theupper is molded, an inner form including an expander for shaping theperipheral portion of the upper against the outer form, means for movingthe inner form heightwise of the upper to cause it to shape the upper, aretarder for pressing the upper against the outer form to restrainheightwise movement of the upper with the inner form, and meansconstructed and arranged to engage opposite faces of the expander tocompress it thereby to cause the lperipheral portion of the expander tobulge and force the periphery of the upper against the shaping surfaceof the outer form.

13. Means for shaping the forepart of a shoe upper comprising an outerform having a surface constructed and arranged to shape the peripheralportion of the upper, an inner form comprising a rigid upper engagingmember, an expander for shaping the peripheral portion of the upperagainst the outer form, a presser for actuating the expander bycompressing it against said rigid upper engaging member, means foroperating the presser to move the rigid upper engaging member and theexpander upwardly to a limit and then to complessthe expander, and aretarder for restraining heightv/ise movement of the upper with theinner form.

14. Means for shaping the forepart of a shoe upper comprising a ,supportconstructed and arranged to receive the outturned margin of the forepartof an upper, an inner form movable heightwise oi the forepart of theupper to shape the upper, a presser for yieldingly gripping theoutturned margin against the support and restraining heightwise movementof the upper with the inner form, and a retarder which operates torestrain heightwise movement of the upper after the upper has been drawnaWay from the support.

l5. Means for shaping the forepart of a shoe upper comprising an innerform for molding the forepart by movement heightwise of the upper, meansfor yieldingly gripping the fcrepart by its marginal portion andrestraining heightwise movement of the upper with the inner form, and aretarder for restraining heightwise movement of the upper after theupper has been drawn away from the gripping means.

16. Means for shaping the forepart of a shoe upper comprising an innerform for molding the iorepart by movement height-wise of the upper,means for yieldingly gripping the orepart by its margin and restrainingheightwise movement of the upper with the inner form, a retarder forrestraining heightvvise movement of the upper after the upper has beendrawn away from the gripping means, an actuator for the gripping means,and a common actuator for the inner form and the retarder,

17. Means for shaping the forepart of an upper comprising an outer form,an inner forni constructed and arranged for operative movementheightwise of the upper, means for pressing the outturned margin of theiorepart against the outer form to restrain heightwise movement of theupper with the inner form, and a retarder for pressing the outturnedmargin against the outer form.

i8. Means for shaping the forepart of a shoe upper comprising an outerform, an inner form comprising a plate for shaping the top of theforepart of the upper and an expander operable by pressure heightwise oithe 'upper for shaping the peripheral portion of the upper against theouter form, and an actuator for moving the inner form heightvvise of theupper to a predetermined limit and ior then pressing the expanderagainst the plate to cause it to expand and shape the peripheral portionof the upper against the outer form.

19. Means for shaping the forepart of a shoe upper comprising an outerform, an inner form comprising a plate for shaping the [top of theforepart of the upper and an expander operable by pressure heightwise ofthe upper for shaping the peripheral portion of the upper against theouter form, a carrier for the inner form constructed and arranged formovement heightwise of the upper, and a retarder carried by said carrierand operable against the upper to restrain heightwise movement thereofwith the inner form.

20. Means for shaping the forepart of a shoe upper comprising an outerform, an inner form comprising a plate for shaping the top of theforepart or" .the upper and an expander operable by pressure heightwiseof the upper for shaping the peripheral portion of the upper against theouter form, a carrier for the inner form constructed and arranged formovement heightwise of the upper, a retarder slidably mounted on thecarrier for movement relatively to the carrier heightwise of the upper,and means in the carrier for pressing the retarder against the upper torestrain heightvvise movement of the upper with the inner form.

2l. Means for shaping shoe uppers comprising members for yieldinglygripping an upper by its margin including an outer upper-shaping form,an inner form i'or shaping the upper by pressure thereof against theouter form, a retarder for restraining movement of the upper With theinner form to render the inner form effective for shaping the upper, anda common actuator for operating the inner form and the retarder inpredetermined time relation such that the retarder becomes effectiveWhile the outturned margin of the upper is held by the upper grippingmembers and maintains a continuous restraint upon the upper until theinner form comes into control of the upper by pressure thereof againstthe outer form.

22. Means for shaping shoe uppers comprising an outer form, an innerform characterized by an expander, a member constructed and arranged tocooperate with the outer form to grip a shoe upper by its outturnedmargin, a retarder for yieldingly pressing the upper against the outerform, and a common actuator for operating the inner form and theretarder in predetermined time relation such that the retarder becomeseffective While the outturned margin of the upper is still in the gripof the outer form and said member and maintains a continuous restraintupc-n the upper untilA the expander presses the upper against the outerform.

23. Means for shaping the forepart of a shoe upper comprising an outerform constructed and arranged to engage the outturned margin of theforepart of an upper, a presser member for pressing the outturned marginagainst said outer form, springs for actuating said presser member,means for adjusting the force of said springs, an inner form operable toshape the upper against said outer form, and a retarder Which operatesto restrain heightvrise movement of the upper after the upper has beendrawn out from between the outer form and the presser member.

PAUL H. DIXON.

